Method, Steelcase Join New Standards Board at Cradle to Cradle

A new Certification Standards Board has been created by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute to oversee the development of the Cradle to Cradle product certification protocol. The board is responsible for moving the product certification towards greater transparency and independent third-party verification.

The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute is a non-profit organization, co-founded by William McDonough and Michael Braungart, to bring about sustainable transformation in the way things are designed and manufactured.

The Institute, using the Cradle to Cradle framework, works with leaders from academia, the NGO environmental community, government, and industry to implement a standard for assessing and constantly improving products based on five criteria:

1. Safe and appropriately sourced materials

2. Material reutilization

3. Renewable energy

4. Release of clean water

5. Social fairness

“The establishment of the Certification Standards Board as the main governance body of the product certification methodology is a milestone for the Institute, a further step in our effort to create a more public and responsive standard,” said Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute president Bridgett Luther.

The Certification Standards Board membership includes industry leaders with backgrounds in chemistry, chemical engineering, toxicology, environmental science, product design, business, and manufacturing. “The Institute and the new board will play a critical role in Cradle to Cradle certification, and create an incentive for continual improvement in the environmental and social qualities of the products people use,” said board member Adam Lowry, co-founder of Method.